Metrodome Pregame: The Boofmeister Is Ticked

Imagine facing a bit of a playoff crisis and having to rely on a guy named Boof. Not somebody with a wacky nickname, but an athlete who legally changed his name to Boof. That’s why I like the A’s today against Boof (Used to Be John) Bonser. Of course, I also liked the Padres against the Cardinals yesterday, as well as the Twins behind Johan Santana in Game 1, but if there’s one thing I learned around the old campfire on those childhood trips to Yosemite, it’s that you never trust someone who changes his name to Boof.

It seems that the Boofmeister is a bit ticked off, and has been for a while. He had to endure three stints in the minor leagues this year, most recently in early August, when he was called up to replace Francisco Liriano (the budding legend who suddenly went down with elbow problems). Bonser had a terrible start, against Texas, and was sent right back to the minors. “He was mad,” said teammate Torii Hunter. “I heard him say that would never happen again.”

“I had a little fire burning in me,” Bonser said. “Like a state fire. The whole place went up in flames for me. I think I used it to my advantage.” Evidently. Bonser reeled off four straight wins down the stretch, and in a revolting development for the Giants — who traded both of them to Minnesota (with Joe Nathan) in the unspeakably bad A.J. Pierzynski trade — Bonser replaced Liriano in the Twins’ postseason plans.

Now it seems that the Twins’ fans have taken the whole “fire” thing to heart. According to one of the Minneapolis papers this morning, they came up with a chant: “The Boof! The Boof! The Boof is on fire!” I am not making this up. So, absolutely, I like the A’s today, and I like a high-scoring game (say, 8-7) because Bonser and Esteban Loaiza are two of the most comfortable at-bats in the major leagues. Hitters can’t wait to get step in. It’s all they can do to not run to the plate. Not to dismiss their effectiveness at all; it’s just that they don’t have the intimidating stuff of a Justin Verlander, Roy Oswalt or Daniel Cabrera, and in this building, a finesse pitcher doesn’t have much margin for error.

In sum: Take the Twins in a brilliant pitcher’s duel, a memorable 1-0 victory for Boof.

3-Dotting: Interesting to recall that, at the trading deadline, the A’s were willing to deal Barry Zito to the Mets for rookie outfielder Lastings Milledge and one of two young pitchers (John Maine or Aaron Heilman). Good thing the Mets backed off . . . Talked to a scout after the game, and he noticed Luis Castillo’s clever approach to Zito. “Against a guy like that, it’s so smart to move a little closer to the plate,” said the scout. “You get a little jump on that big curveball. It’s easier to let it go if it’s coming in low. And it’s not like Zito’s fastball’s going to blow you away.” Castillo drew walks in his first two at-bats, “but I didn’t see anybody else moving up in the box,” said the scout. “You’ve gotta be adaptable up there.” . . . A few minutes after the end of Game 1, Frank (Big Hurt) Thomas picked up his cell phone and saw a text message from Mark Buehrle, a former White Sox teammate. It read, simply, “You’re a stud.” . . . You have to marvel at the clown who caught Thomas’ second homer yesterday and angrily threw it back, drawing lusty cheers from the crowd in the latest example of a really stupid trend. Yo, dude — you just threw back a home run from an almost sure-fire Hall of Famer. I’d love to know that he’s got a grade-school kid back home who couldn’t watch the game but watched the replay. “See, there’s dad,” he tells his friends. “There he is being an idiot.”

If the A’s keep this up, the NFL is going to get very tired of them. The Vikings and Lions are scheduled to play a noon game in the Metrodome on Sunday, but if the A’s and Twins need a game 5 that day, the football game will be moved to Monday. Should the A’s reach the World Series, their home-field advantage would have them scheduled for two home Sundays — both of which have “Oakland Raiders” on the schedule. The Raiders would also have to move to Monday — and not without a fight, you’d imagine.